# CVE-2016-2786: Security feature bypass in n/a

> Remote attackers can spoof brokers and execute arbitrary commands due to improper server certificate validation in Puppet components.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 10 Jun 2016
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-ccpv-4cv8-m68g

## What is CVE-2016-2786?

CVE-2016-2786 is a critical vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Enterprise, published on 10 Jun 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The pxp-agent component in Puppet Enterprise 2015.3.x before 2015.3.3 and Puppet Agent 1.3.x before 1.3.6 does not properly validate server certificates, which might allow remote attackers to spoof brokers and execute arbitrary commands via a crafted certificate.

Weakness: CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-2786?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Puppet Puppet Agent, Puppet Puppet Enterprise.

## How do I fix CVE-2016-2786?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-2786 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2016-2786 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2786 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Puppet Puppet Enterprise

- [CVE-2016-5713](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5713/): Versions of Puppet Agent prior to 1.6.0 included a version of the Puppet Execution Protocol (PXP) agent that passed environment variables through to Puppet runs. (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2016-5714](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-5714/): Security feature bypass in n/a (high 7.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2016-2786 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2016-2786 is a critical vulnerability in Puppet Puppet Enterprise, published on 10 Jun 2016. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2016-2786 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Puppet Puppet Enterprise. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2786/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2786/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2786
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-2786
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2016-2786

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-2786/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.